''Acropolis Now'' was an Australian television

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

set in a fictional Greek cafe, called the "Acropolis Cafe" in Melbourne that ran for 63 episodes broadcast from 9 August 1989 to 4 November 1992 on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

. It was created by

Nick Giannopoulos Nicholas Giannopoulos (born 1 July 1963) is an Australian stand-up comedian, film and TV actor and film director. He is best known for his comedy stage show ''Wogs Out of Work'' alongside George Kapiniaris, the television sitcom ''Acropolis No ...

George Kapiniaris George Kapiniaris is an Australian stage, television and film actor and comedian. He is of Greek descent and is best known for his role in popular sitcom '' Acropolis Now'' and composed the series' theme song. Professional background Theatr ...

and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series. They were already quite well known for their comedy stage show, ''

Wogs out of Work ''Wogs Out of Work'' is an Australian play which was written by Nick Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares, and Maria Portesi. It debuted in 1987 at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was enormously successful, touring for a number of yea ...

''. The title is a nameplay on the film ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph C ...

''. Each episode was 20 minutes in length and filmed in front of a live audience.

Program synopsis

Jim's (Giannopoulos) father asks him to run the family business, the Acropolis café, when he suddenly leaves Australia to return to his homeland

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. The series centres on the activities of the cafe staff.

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Jim Stefanidis, is the immature owner and his best friend,

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both i ...

Ricky Martinez (Palomares) is the sensible manager (seasons 1-2 only). Memo (Kapiniaris) is the traditional Greek waiter, Liz is the liberated Australian waitress. Skip is the naïve new cook from the bush and Manolis is the stubborn cook from the old cafe. The show's humour arises from the clash of cultures and beliefs. Jim's hairdresser cousin

Effie Effie is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Euphemia (Greek: Εὐφημία). Notable people with the name include: Women * Effie Bancroft (1840–1921), English actress and theatre manager * Effie Boggess (1927-202 ...

, played by

Mary Coustas Mary Coustas (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character " Effie", a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian pr ...

, became a hugely popular and enduring character during the run of the show. Coustas later reprised the role for several TV specials and series including '' Effie, Just Quietly'', an SBS comedy/interview show, and '' Greeks on the Roof'', a short-lived

Greek-Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ...

version of the British

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...

'' The Kumars at No. 42''.

Popular culture

Acropolis Now helped popularise the term "skippy" or "skip" to refer to

Anglo-Celtic Australians Anglo-Celtic Australians is an ancestral grouping of Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles - predominantly in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. While Anglo-Celtic Australians do not form an of ...

and others of European but non-Mediterranean descent. This term (inspired by the iconic 60's TV series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'') became popular with Mediterranean-Australians, and to a lesser extent non-Mediterranean people, especially in Melbourne.

Production

The program was produced by

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfo ...

which is now owned by

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television station covering the Wollongong region. The WIN Net ...

Characters

Overview

Other characters

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Max ...

– Danny O'Brien (Soccer Star) *

Anthony Brandon Wong Anthony Brandon Wong (born 12 May 1965), often credited simply as Anthony Wong, is an Australian actor. His roles include Ghost in ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions''. Career His role of Ghost from ''The Matrix Reloaded'' an ...

– Guido Mazzio (Italian-Asian; Guido Rosi's cousin) *

Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a British Academy Television Award, BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner. In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared o ...

– Kostas "Con" Stefanidis (Jim's Father) * Zlatko Kasumovic – Vlad (Harry's Brother; the bouncer) * Lawrence Mah – Colin (Chinese Green Grocer) * Tony Poli (S03E07) & Joe Perrone (S04E02) – Vinnie Vincenzo (Owner: Vinnie's Bistro, Jim's long-time rival) *

Gerry Connolly Gerald Edward Connolly (born March 30, 1950) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district, first elected in 2008. The district is anchored in Fairfax County, an affluent suburban coun ...

– Larry (Wheel of Language Host) * Vince D'Amico – Don Santo (The Italian Godfather) * Di Adams – Michael "Mike" (Female Masculine Chef) * Fotis Pelekis – Dimi Stefanidis (The Kid; Jim's Identical teenage year 10 wagging school Cousin)

Awards

The show itself did not win any awards, but Mary Coustas won the 1993 Logie for Most Popular Comedy Performer for her role as Effie.

Home media-DVD release

Acropolis Now has been released as a complete series boxset by Crawfords Online Store. The boxset contains all 63 episodes on a 15 disc set, along with episode synopses and out-takes from episodes as a special feature.

Filming location

Although the Acropolis cafè/hotel was filmed in HSV-7 Studios, the exterior is still standing and looks almost identical to the show. It is located on 251 Brunswick Street, and corner of Greeves Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0122333
CrawfordsAcropolis Now at the National Film and Sound Archive
Australian television sitcoms Seven Network original programming 1989 Australian television series debuts 1992 Australian television series endings Greek-Australian culture in Melbourne Television shows set in Melbourne Australian workplace comedy television series